Filipina Gen-Z Grad Working In S'pore As Domestic Helper: "I Earn Double Of What I Made As Office Staff [Back Home]"

After studying for four years and graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management, Cleggy, a Gen Z who hails from the Philippines, did not expect to end up working as a domestic helper in Singapore.

It's not the future she pictured while studying for her Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management, and Cleggy is refreshingly honest about how difficult that was to accept at first.

"I kept asking myself, 'Why I study so hard just to become a helper like this?' Then I say, 'God, Lord, where is my plot twist? Like, I want to do something, you know?'" she recalled.

Cleggy shared her story on an episode of Mediacorp's Gen Z Crash Course, which followed the university graduate around Singapore on a Sunday, her day off for the week. 

She graduated in July 2023 after four years of university and dreamed of working on a cruise ship.

"I wanted to travel the world. I want to see different places and make memories," she recalled.

Unfortunately, she says she was rejected because she didn't meet the height requirement. There were financial barriers too, leaving the career she'd studied for seemingly out of reach.

"That time I was very sad, like, 'Why? Why I cannot have that dream?' It's my dream job," she shared.

Cleggy then worked as office staff in her city for almost a year.

"The salary is not really a lot, so I cannot pay my bills. You know, like my wants, I cannot buy," she said.

After unsuccessfully applying for better-paying jobs, she started looking overseas.

"I cannot count how many companies rejected me. That time I [was] very sad and very devastated. I kept blaming myself, like, 'Why I cannot have this job?'"

"Then I realised that if I cannot make my dream here, why not in another country? So I tried to apply in Singapore," she recalled.

Cleggy says applying to work here as a domestic helper required considerably less money upfront.

"My salary last time when I worked as office staff [was] less than S$300. In Singapore, I earn double of that. Sometimes more than that," she said.

Cleggy sends money home to help with her siblings' studies and her family's everyday expenses.

But she can finally afford some of the things she couldn't before too, including attending a LANY concert and the Singapore Grand Prix.

"It's like treating myself, you know," she said.

Cleggy's family was concerned when she told them she was coming to Singapore.

"They're very worried and very scared because they see online stories about the helper being abused," she said.

Thankfully, Cleggy says her own experience has been a positive one.

"I'm lucky that my employer [is] very nice. They treat me like family. Sometimes [they treat] me as their own daughter. They take care of me, they ask me if [I'm] okay," she said.

On her weekly day off, Cleggy often takes the bus to Lucky Plaza, where she sometimes spends hours simply drinking coffee.

"Every off day I come here, just order a coffee, just sit, and sometimes for hours. Just coffee and me," she said.

She also meets her aunt, who has taken a similar path. Her aunt studied IT and previously worked in insurance for Toyota before similarly coming to Singapore as a domestic helper.

"In the office, you're just sitting down like a princess doing computer work, and then after that, when you go overseas, you're cleaning house," her aunt said.

"As long as we earn money... it's legal work, it's clean money. That's it,” her aunt adds.

When they're missing home, Cleggy and her aunt head to Jollibee.

"Every time we miss home, we just come here and eat. This is the best part of our one whole stressful week. We talk, we laugh, and we eat," Cleggy shared.

Those Sundays are a far cry from her first few months in Singapore where she "cried every day".

When homesickness hits, Cleggy says she allows herself to cry.

"Because it's okay to cry. It doesn't mean that you cry, you're very weak. No, it makes you strong," she said.

It wasn't just homesickness that Cleggy had to work through.

For a while, she was embarrassed about being a university graduate working as a domestic helper.

Her close friends knew what she did, but her former college classmates and more distant Facebook friends didn't.

And because she posted photos and videos of herself enjoying life in Singapore, some would message asking what she did here and whether they could apply for the same job.

"I cannot reply because I'm very shy, you know, because I graduated [with a] degree, then I just work as helper," she admitted.

Eventually, however, Cleggy's perspective changed.

"I realised that eventually it's okay, as long as they pay me more and as long as I can save for my dreams and sustain my family. If you have a huge ego, it doesn't feed you. You still go hungry. It's not about the job title. It's about how they pay you more than what you earn back in the Philippines,” she said.

And Cleggy hasn't abandoned her ambitions, and is saving up hopefully to one day open her own coffee shop.

She'd also like to study further and possibly work in a restaurant or hotel, bringing her back to the hospitality industry she originally trained for.

But despite everything that's happened since she graduated, Cleggy doesn't think her four years at university were for nothing.

"To anyone back home, don't think that your degree means nothing. You're just building your dreams. Remember, sacrifice is the key to success," she said.